1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shelf allocation and management system for allocating shelf space among rows of products and for moving the rows of products toward the front of the shelf.
2. Prior Art
In stores, for example, grocery stores, that display products on shelves for sale, it is essential that the products be arranged as close as possible due to limited amount of space. Furthermore, it is necessary to continuously move the products to the front of the shelf so that customers can see and select those items they desire. If the products are hidden or if an insufficient depth of the shelf is utilized and the product is exhausted, potential sales are lost.
The prior art has addressed this problem and developed relatively complex machines to advance rows of products on a shelf. These machines are generally limited to a specific size display and do not maximize the amount of total shelf space which may be utilized for products.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,762,236; 4,830,201; 4,907,707 and 5,012,936 disclose complex mechanisms for advancing product rows which provide a spring-biased backstop which constantly forces the products toward the front of the shelf. The constant biasing feature provides for automatically moving the row of products to the front of the shelf. However, there is a drawback of potentially damaging certain products by exerting a constant pressure thereon (for example, loaves of bread, types of pasta, etc.). Additionally, the constantly biased backstop can increase the difficulty of restocking the shelves from the rear of the shelf as desired. In most of these arrangements, the spring-biased backstop must be held with one hand while the new products are positioned between the backstop and the products already on the shelf.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,079,754 discloses a complex arrangement which combines the dispensing of the products with the movement of the products toward the front of the shelf. This arrangement is limited to situations where article dispensing is to be incorporated into the operation of the shelf and is not appropriate for all types of shelves.
These prior art systems are relatively expensive, cannot be used on a wide variety of shelves, do not maximize the amount of shelf space which can be used for products and are not adapted for a wide variety of product shapes and types. The objects of the present invention are to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art systems and to provide a cost-effective shelf allocation and management system which can efficiently advance product rows toward the front of the shelf which allows for a wide variety of package width and which minimizes the space between product rows.